Railroad spreader



July l2, 1932 H. w. PYROTZELLER 39%559577 RAILROAD SPREADER Original Filed July 26. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l H. W. PRoTlzELLi-:R

RAILROAD SPREADEB Original Filed July 26, 1928 E5 Sheets-Sheet 2 july l2, i932. H. w. PRoTzi-:LLER

RAILROAD SPREADER Original Filed July 26. 1928 Patented July 172, 1932 :HARRY PROTZELLER, F EAST CHICAGO,

INDIANA, Assrsiion .To o. JoniiAN COMPANY, OIF EAST CHICAGO, INDIANA, CORPORATION SINDIANA RAILROAD srnEAnnn Original application led July 26, 1928, Serial No. 295,451..

9, 1929. Serial No. 412,645.

This invention relates to improvements in i railroad spreaders and it consists of the matters hereinafter described and morer particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

Thev present application, is a divisional application and the subject matter thereof, was first presented lin my copending applicaf- 'tionrfor patent' on railroad spreaders ledj July 26, 1928 under Serial Number 295,451, nowPatent No. 1,822,312. f

The primaryobject of the invention is to provide ina railroad spreader, an improved,

brace construction between the car Vand main spreader wing'and one-which maybe locked at any point in its extended position to pre- V vent any telescoping of the parts underthe `great loads imposed'upon they wing.

Another object of the invention'is to provide a brace Vconstructiondev'oid of anylocking Vpinand hole arrangement so that Vthe vparts may have a relative turning during the changing ofthe lvertical angular position of the Wing and may be readily lockedV together" irrespective of 'the verticalangular position of the wing. Y l t Y Y Still another object of the inventionis to provide a telescopic brace for the wing, the parts of which brace may be frictionally locked together and this by anovel arrangement of parts carried by the brace itself.

These objects of the invention'as well as others, together with many 'advantages thereof will more `fully appearas I proceed with myspeciication.

In the drawings F ig.` l is a top plan view of al railroad spreader,embodying the improved form of wing brace. f

Fig. 2 is a detail viewiin side elevation on an enlarged scale of the associated end parts kof the brace and the vmeans for locking ysaid parts together.

.Fig 3 is a transverse vertical detail sectional view on a further enlarged scale as taken on the line 3 3 of Fig.2. 1

Fig. 4 is a detail view in sideV elevation'of one of the levers embodied in the locking means for the brace. Y

Fig. 5 is another detail sectional view as taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

6 is ahorizontal detail sectional view as taken kon the line 6 6 of`Fig.5.'

y Divided and this application filed December vReferring Vnow in detail to that Veinbodi- 'i ment of the' invention illustrated inthe ac-` companying drawings, 1 indicates as a whole the car of a railroad spreader and 2-'2indicates the vmain spreader yor side wings; arranged one at each side of the car. In Fig. 1

the deckingof'the car has been omitted for.

the purpose of more fully showing the under framing thereof. 1

said under framing ineiudesside 5111s 3 3' suitablyk connected` together and extending from end to end ofthe car. At the front end of the car and spaced vlaterallyoutward from 'said Vsills are shortersillsZl-gt thus'providing ai wider framefor platform part v5 at said end of the car which is pointed in the j usual manner to accommodatethe associated V-shaped front V'plow 5a.

At the rear end of the jcar and spaced laterally-from the sills'S-B are'shorter sills 6 6 which are suitably connectedtogether and the frontend of each: shorter sill Gis oifsetinwardly to meet and be secured to an associated sill Thisfvprovides a wider frame or platform part'7 at'th'e rear end of the car and'associated with each platform is a suitable wheel truck 8 8. VThe construction just above generally described, provides a substantially'arrow shaped car bodywith wider front andrear endl parts anda narrower intermediate part, thus forming cut in or recessed sides for the carin which the wings are disposed when the car is yin transit "from onefpoint of use to another.

At each side of the car, a suitable distance tothe Vrear of the wider front platform part 5 is an upright wing carriage post 9, suitably secured to and supported from the side sills.

Each post 'is preferably tubular'and mounted 4fV thereon for vertical guided'movement ina hinge ybracket plate 10.' Said' bracket is preferably bifurcated to receive the inner end of a wing 2 and saidwingis hinged inthe bracketplate .by a horizontall 11. Suitably connected to each postis an' arinj1'2 the free end of which is connectedto a piston 13 of a compressed iiuidcylinder 14` carried onV the ca r under framing as best-shown in Fig. 1. As is apparent in said gure each cylinder is disposed on that side of the car opposite the one upon which its associated wing is located. Thus when fluid under pressure is admitted to one end of a cylinder it willswing the associated wing about its carriage post, away from the car as best shownv at the bottom of Fig..1, and when fluid under pressure is admitted to the other end of said cylinder, the wing is swung in toward the side of the car as best shown at the top of said Fig. 1. Asthe construction just described w'ill formV the subject matter ofa separate application to be filed later," it will not be described in detail herein. j Y

With each wingis vassociated a ,power` braces, the function of whichfis Vtohold the WingV in .the desired angulaiposition with respect to the car'and to receive the thrust or load imposed uponvthe wing in service and to transmit it to the under framing of the car. l-leretofore the braces have been made of telescopic I-beam and ychannel arrangement and in some cases telescopic tubes are employed but in each instance Vlocking pins and holes were provided to lockthe braces in the desired extended position. Such arrangements have not proven satisfactory because the position of the locking V.pin in the desired hole, determined the angular position of the wing andvin some instances the correct angle could not be attained because of the location lof the pin and hole. Again with the I-beain and channel brace a serious twist was im osedu on the same when changing the vertical angle of the wing and when telescopic tubular members were employed having locking pins and holes, the pin could not always be brought into position with the hole because of the radial angular displacement between the two due to the relative twisting between the tubular brace parts when the vertical angular position of the wing was thus changed.y

The present braces, now about to be de scribed, eliminate the objections above noted. As shown in Fig. 1,1 provide inner and outer braces 16 and'17 for each wing and as they are substantially alike in structure and only different in length, a detailed description of one will sufhce for both. A l

Each'brace includes' inner and outer tubular members or pipes 18 and 19 respectively. In this instance the inner pipe member 18 is of a larger diameter, and on the outer end thereof is fixed a clamp guide casting 2O with a reduced end sleeve 21 in which the inner end of the outer brace member 19 has a snug lit that will permit of a longitudinal as well as a turning movement of vsaid member in said sleeve. Preferably this casting is removably secured to the outer end of the inner brace member by bolts 22-22 as best shown in Figs. 3 and 5 respectively and in the top and bottom sides of said casting are rectangular openings 23 and 24 respectively which register with similar openings in the pipe 18. On that end of the pipe 19 which telescopes within the pipe 18 is fixed a collar 25 having a snug sliding fit with the interior surface of the pipe 18, to coact with the Vsleeve'21 and thus provide the proper ,bearing between the pipes` 18 and 19.

Disposed within the pipe 18'so as to partially surroundthepipe 19, are top and bottoni clamping blocks or shoes 26 and 27 respectively, each of which has Va central portion 26a-27%'L respectively which extend through the openings 23 and 24 respectively, before mentioned. The central portion 27n of the bottoni block or shoe 27 is formed to providea downwardly'facin'g boss 28 that engages in a 'seat 29 on a transversely disposed pressure bar' or beam 30. In the boss 28 is a vertically disposed opening 31 which registers with a similar opening 32Vin the pressure beam`30. vThe opening 31 is of a peculiar formation in that its bottom end is made as a transversely extending slot 31u while the topv endis enlarged to provide a shoulder 31b and in 'said' shoulder at opposite sides ,of the slot are recesses 31+-'31.

pressure beam together and the top end 'of said bolt has a head 33?L which is transversely elongated so that it may be inserted up through the slot 31a and then turned to eiigage in the recesses 31, there being a nut 34 on the bot-tom end of the bolt for the pui'- pose readily apparent. When necessary as when they braking or gripping surface of the block becomes worn, the saine may be taken up or compensated therefor by placing one or more shims 35 between the boss 28 and seat 29. I

[In the central portion 26a of the'block or shoe 26is a recess 26b which receives the stem 36 of an upright pressure post 37, a pin 38 securing the stem in place in said recess. The top end of said post has a transversely extending opening 39 in which is journalled a stub shaft 10 and to the end extension of said shaft are secured depending links L1:1-41. Y n

l1`he pressure beam 30 has end truniiions 3()'--302L and journalled thereon are the bottom ends of substantially upright links A T VT-shaped bolt 33 connects the said block and lill;

42-42, the mid portions` of which have guided bearing between longitudinally spaced lugs or shoulders 43-43 on each side of the bracket casting 20 as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Associated with said links is a pair of levers 44-44. Each lever is provided at its bottom end with laterally extending, oppositely and eccentrically disposed innei1 and outertrunnions 45 and 46 respectively. As best shown in Fig. 4, the said trunnions are offset along a plane at less than a right angle to thelongitudinal plane of the lever itself. The outer trunnion of each lever bears in a suitable opening in the top end of an associated link 42 whilethe inner trunnion of each lever bears in an opening in the 1nottom end of an associated link 41 as best shown in Fig. 3. The top ends of the levers 44-44 are connected by a cross shaft 47 and on said shaft between said leversv is journalled a T-shaped cross head 48.

Secured to the pipe 18 a suitable distance inwardly from the casting 20, is a. clamp like bracket 49 which includes a pair of upwardly extending arms 498-49a. Associated with this bracket is a cylinder 5() having front and rear end heads 51-52 respectively and in this instance the rear end head is pivoted by a pin 53 to and between the bracket arm 49-49. A piston rod 54 slides through the Vfront end head 51iand one end thereof carries a piston 55 disposed in the cylinder whilev the other end of said rod is connected to the cross head 48 before mentioned. Suitable pressure fluid inlet and outlet 56 and 57 respectively are fixed in said heads so that motive fluid under pressure may be admitted to either end of the cylinder to move the piston in the desired direction. The said inlet and outlet lead from a suitable source of supply located upon the car where usual valve mechanism (not shown) for controlling said inlet der framing of the car as indicated as a whole at 59 in said figure. The ball and socket joint connection 58 is such as will permit a turning movement of the pipe 19 with respect to the wing without a separation therebetween while the universal joint connection is such as will permit-the brace as a whole to swing in-toward or out away from the car as well as upwardly or downwardly movement. Said universal joint, however, will not permit a turning or twisting of said pipe with reference to said car under framing.

The operation of the mechanism above described is as follows Y Y Assume that both wings are folded in to- Whenit is desired. to'swing oneof ,thewings into 'an operative position as shown at the bottom of Fig. 1, air is admitted to the proper cylinder 14 which through the associated arm` 12 will swing said wing linto `its operative position about the associated wingrpost as an axis. In this movement of the wing, the pipe Y section 19 will slide in the pipe vsection 18, it being understood 4that no motive fluid under pressure isin the cylinders and that the levers44 stand Vin the position of minimum load as indicated in dottedline's in Fig. 2 at which time the shoes or blocks 267-27 are exerting no pressure or gripping action on V,the pipe 19. Q, When the desired operativeangular position of the wing has been reached, fluid under pressure is admitted through vthe conduit `56 .Y to the rear end of the cylinder` 50, fluid in advance ofthe piston 55 thereinv passing out -through the'conduit`57 and through the valve ciatedparts and a downward movement-of the links 41 and associated parts thus causingpthe blocks or shoes to frictionally clamp .or lock upon the pipe 19 to lock it tothe pipev .18. It has been demonstrated in actual use that by clamping or frictionally gripping the y blocks 264-271upon the .pipe as described, the bracelnay be held in its extended condition under far greater load strains imposed by the wing than was-heretoforepossible to hold -with the pin andholetype of lockfprevious- .y Y ly employed, Should the wing tend to float v up or down due to the uneven surfaces operated upon, .orif, it becomes necessary to change the vertical angle of the wing, for any reason, `this is possible o after unlocking the pipe y19 and should the pipe 19 turn during this operation, it will in no mannerinterfere with the relooking because no registration of locking pin and hole need be taken into consideration. n

When it is desired to swing the wing back Vinto its inoperativeposition along side ofthe car, the fluid is shut off from thecylinder'O thus releasing the gripping action on the pipe eo Y 19 and as said wing swings .inwardly the pipe 19 is free toslide in the pipe 18 and thus telescope and foreshorten asis necessary; Should the pipe engaging surface of the bottom gripping block orshoe become worn,

the links 42-.-42 are removed, andthe nut is unscrewed fromthe bolt 33 sothat therpressure beam`may be removedto permit insertion of additionall and wear compensatingA shims between the boss 28 andseat 29 after which the parts removed are replaced.

05 ward the car as shown at the top of Fig. 1. The construction described has many acl-'430 vantages. It securely holds the brace in its extended position under extreme loads and the gripping blocks or shoes grip upon any place necessary upon the pipe 19. The parts employed are strong and rigid and easily accessible for inspection when necessary and cannot readily get out of order.

While in describing my invention I have referred in detail to the form andarrangement of the parts thereof, the same is to be taken as by way of illustration .only and I do not wish to be limited thereto except as may be morespecifically'pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention v 1. In a railroad spreader, ka car, a side wing hinged thereto'for a swinging movement toward and away from the carga brace including telescopic members' interposed between the car and side wing and which members have engaging surfaces whereby they are under certain conditions relatively turnable, a ball and socket joint connecting one of said members to the wing, a universal joint connecting the oth-er member `to the car and power actuated means operable from the car and including relatively movable clamping jaws for frictionally locking said telescopic members in the desired extended andv-rela- Ytively turned positions.

v2; In a railroad spreader, a car, a side wing hinged thereto for a swinging movement toward and away from the car, a brace including telescopic members interposed between the car' and side wing, a ball and socket joint connecting onev of said members to the wing, a'universal joint connecting theother member to the car, means carried by one of said telescopic members for frictional engagement with the other to lock them together and a power device also carried by said one of said telescopic members for actuating said means. Y

3. In a railroad spreader, a car, a side wing hinged thereto for a swinging movement toward and away from the car, a telescopic brace between the car and wing and including a-member having a universal joint connection at one end with the car, and a second member having a ball and socket connection at one end with said wing and movable at its other end into and out of the other end l of the first mentioned member, and power actuated frictional gripping means operable from the car 'and including relatively movable clamping jaws carried by said other end of said first mentioned member Vfor locking both members together. Y

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 5th day of December, 1929.

HARRY PROTZELLER.

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